Page 91 of This Blood That Binds Us

Zach appeared on my other side. “Hmmmm. You seem to be telling the truth. But...”

“We don’t buy it.” Zach and Luke talked in unison.

“We know there is something you guys aren’t telling us. We can feel it.” Zach moved in closer, closing the circle around me.

I dared to glance over at Presley, who was silently enjoying my struggles. He bit his lip, and his face was red from holding back laughter.

“Point is.. .we need details. What are you guys hiding?” Luke leaned up against the rock I had propped myself up on, his wrist clearly visible.

Three parallel black lines that extended three inches onto the forearm. They were slender and wobbly and a little uneven. I peeked over at Zach’s wrist that held the same ink. I’d never noticed them before.

“Nothing.”

I kept my tone calm, but internally, I was screaming. There was no way I could convince them I was telling the truth.

Zach relaxed. “Don’t worry, we will figure it out.”

“They’re really nosey, huh? You get used to it.” Presley propped his elbows up on the rock and let his body hang. He turned and looked behind him. “Quick, get on my shoulders!”

“What? Why?” I said.

“It’s that game, you know . . . Marco Polo.”

“What?” Zach said.

“Not even close. It’s called Chicken.” Luke laughed.

Presley shook his head. “No, that’s not it.”

“How would you know? We never had a pool.” Zach splashed Presley, causing an outpouring of chaos.

I leaned farther into the rock as they splashed and pushed each other under the water, once again failing at their job of looking human.

Their special bond engulfed me. Being with them made time pass quickly. They made me feel comfortable and accepted, even if they’d spent half the time grilling me. I knew it came from a place of love and protection.

Aaron walked up to the water bank with a perky Chelsea at his side. “What are you doing?”

His heavy gaze penetrated our carefree circle.

“Nothin’,” the boys said simultaneously.

A strange silence settled among us. Happy, young adults passed with their yelling and splashing. I wished that could be all of us. Carefree. If only Aaron and I had met in a different time or a different life, maybe things would have turned out differently for his brothers, too. Maybe they wouldn’t have ever got mixed up in bad things, and they would have never had to suffer as much as they had. Maybe I wouldn’t have spent so much time alone. We could have been at the MountainTop Park just like normal college kids.

“All right. Let’s go cliff diving!” Presley practically sprinted out of the water.

“Cliff diving?” I fidgeted.

“Yeah, it’s right over there!” Zach pointed to a tall cliff nearby, a rocky ledge. Some guy in hot pink swim shorts hurled himself off the edge and past the rocks below.

“Are you afraid of heights?” Luke said.

“Um, a little,” I admitted.

I waddled to the shore. My clothes stuck to my skin, the hot sun beating down on my back.

Luke took off his wet shirt and wrung it out. “Don’t worry. It’s perfectly safe.”

Easy for them to say.